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# Listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats deadliest since 2011
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/listeria-outbreak-linked-to-boars-head-deli-meats-deadliest-since-2011/
- Published: 2024-10-22T17:28:28.000Z
- Updated: 2024-10-22T17:28:28.000Z
- Description: At least 10 people have died after consuming diseased deli meat produced by Boar’s Head, according to the CDC.
- Author: Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest
- Tags: Meat industry, Data Harvest, boar's head, CDC, TP::Explainer, fruit, hospitalization, ice cream, listeria, listeria outbreak, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

Over the summer, a supermarket staple, Boar’s Head deli meat, was recalled. In more than a dozen states, people had fallen sick and been hospitalized because the processed food had Listeria, a foodborne disease.

At least 10 deaths have been linked to the outbreak from Boar’s Head’s facility in Virginia, [according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/delimeats-7-24.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org). It’s the [deadliest](https://www.foodandwine.com/boars-head-virginia-plant-closure-listeria-8712610?ref=investigatemidwest.org) Listeria outbreak since 2011, when [33 people died](https://web.archive.org/web/20220324061401/https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cantaloupes-jensen-farms/index.html) from eating diseased cantaloupes from Colorado.

Before the recall, the federal government had documented problems at the facility over the course of a year — inspectors had found black mold and flies, [according to The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/30/health/listeria-outbreak-boars-head-deli-meat.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org). The company [announced](https://boarshead.com/products-recall-2024?ref=investigatemidwest.org) it has closed the facility indefinitely. The wealthy family that owns the Boar’s Head brand [has so far not commented](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/13/business/boars-head-owners-listeria-outbreak.html?pvid=05B4632A-6198-4785-8D92-95B7233A9428&referringSource=articleShare&smid=nytcore-ios-share&tgrp=bth&ref=investigatemidwest.org) on the scandal.

Beyond deli meat, Listeria has been [detected](https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/index.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org#cdc%5Flisting%5Fadd%5Finfo-learn-more) on [fruits](https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/peaches-11-23.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org), [ice cream](https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/ice-cream-08-23.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org) and cheese. In February, the CDC began [investigating](https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/cheese-02-24.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org) an outbreak linked to cheese products produced by California-based Rizo-López Foods, which led to two deaths. This month, the U.S. Department of Justice [blocked](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/justice-department-obtains-injunction-prevent-california-company-manufacturing-and?ref=investigatemidwest.org) the company’s production.

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